About

The operator who builds your GTM operating system

I sit between GTM, data, systems and AI — the place where scaling companies often develop expensive operational drag. Define Data exists to take it out: trusted reporting, CRM architecture and AI-ready data that leadership can run the business on.

David Kernan — Founder of Define Data

David Kernan

Founder, Define Data

LinkedIn

I started Define Data because I kept seeing the same thing in scaling companies: they had bought the tools, but the GTM system underneath did not hold together. CRM architecture drifted, lifecycle and handoffs leaked, attribution was guesswork, and reporting quietly stopped being trusted. They did not need another platform — they needed someone who had built this before and could turn it into a source of truth. That is what I do, and for the bigger builds I bring in trusted specialists I have worked with over the years.

I have spent over a decade as a Head of Data, Analytics and Business Systems — building the function, fixing broken reporting, and getting leadership to actually trust the numbers in front of them. I have done it in high-growth SaaS, in regulated banking, and in e-commerce operating across 14 markets.

At a Series C fintech I built the Data & Analytics function from scratch — hiring the team, standing up the platform, and delivering the reporting that sales, finance and product leadership relied on daily. When the CRM and business systems needed work, I took that on too: redesigning Salesforce reporting, deploying and integrating HubSpot marketing, improving pipeline data quality by 80%, and replacing monthly Excel packs with daily self-serve analytics used by every manager in the business.

Before that I led digital analytics for a €50 million banking initiative, working across 1.5 billion events a year from more than a million customers and presenting insight straight to the steering committee. In e-commerce I grew from analyst to leading a team of analysts and data scientists across a €500 million revenue business operating in 14 markets.

Most recently I led Data & AI, Product and Engineering at a funded AI startup — building a multi-tenant data platform handling 20+ enterprise customer workloads and shipping agentic AI workflows with a 15-person team. That is the same span — GTM, data, systems and AI — that scaling companies have to get working together, and where the drag tends to hide.

Salesforce Certified Administrator
Salesforce Certified Administrator
Salesforce Certified Data Architect
Salesforce Certified Data Architect
CIPP/E — Certified Information Privacy Professional/Europe
CIPP/E — Certified Information Privacy Professional/Europe
HubSpot Certified
HubSpot Certified
10+

Years leading data, analytics and business systems

15

Largest team built and managed

4

Industries: SaaS, Fintech, E-commerce, Banking

MSc

Strategic Management (Innovation)

Track record

What I Bring to the Table

I have been on your side of the table. I know what it takes to get a GTM system working — because I have built and run them, in-house, at scale.

Built GTM & Data Functions From Scratch

Hired teams, stood up platforms, established governance, and delivered the reporting leadership relied on — from greenfield to operating at scale.

Rebuilt CRM Architecture & Revenue Reporting

Took Salesforce from unreliable pipeline data to trusted daily reporting. Cut pipeline hygiene issues by 80% and moved teams off monthly Excel onto a source of truth.

Delivered at Board & Exec Level

Presented to steering committees, built executive dashboards, and defined the KPI frameworks the C-suite ran on across fintech, banking and e-commerce.

Made Data AI-Ready

Not just strategy — I build. From data platforms and Power BI semantic models to agentic AI workflows and multi-tenant architectures handling 60+ data sources.

Principles

How I Work

The principles behind every engagement

Senior-Led, Every Engagement

No bait and switch. David leads every engagement personally — from the first diagnostic through to delivery. For larger builds I bring in specialists I have worked with for years, but I am always the one accountable for your GTM systems and the outcomes they produce.

Outcomes Over Tooling

I have sat in the leadership meetings where revenue decisions get made on numbers nobody fully trusts. I start with the operational drag you are feeling, not the platform I want to install. The right answer is the one that gives you a source of truth you can run the business on.

Built to Last

A GTM operating system is not a one-off project. I invest in understanding how your company actually goes to market so the CRM architecture, reporting and automation still hold together as you scale — whether that is a focused audit or an ongoing relationship.

Radical Honesty

I will tell you if something is not worth doing. I will push back if the scope is wrong. And I will be upfront if I am not the right fit. When you are making decisions on your numbers, you deserve straight answers.

Stack

Expertise & Credentials

Deep experience across the platforms, disciplines and certifications a modern GTM operating system depends on

CRM & GTM Systems

HubSpot Salesforce (Sales Cloud / CPQ) CRM architecture Lifecycle & handoffs CRM/data integration

Trusted Reporting & BI

Power BI GA4 KPI frameworks Board reporting Source of truth

AI-Ready Data

AI-ready data Generative AI & LLMs Agentic AI RAG

Data & Automation

Python SQL dbt Snowflake Zapier n8n

Cloud & Infrastructure

GCP AWS BigQuery Data warehousing

Strategy & Leadership

Data architecture Data governance Data strategy Team building Stakeholder management

Certifications & qualifications

Salesforce Administrator (certified) Salesforce Data Architect (certified) AWS Certified AI Practitioner HubSpot certified CIPP/E (data privacy) Power BI

Let's Pressure-Test Your GTM Systems

Book a GTM Systems Audit. We will look at where your CRM architecture, reporting and data are creating operational drag — and give you an honest view of what to fix first.

Book a GTM Systems Audit

Currently taking on new engagements for Q2 2026